Divan hardware



W. G. ONEIL DIVAN HARDWARE Feb. 26, 1946.

Filed June 14, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet l- INVENTOR. Iva/fer 6. O'Neil ATTORNEY.

Feb. 26, 1946. w QNEIL 2,395,424

r DIVAN HARDWARE Filed June 14, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR'. Wal-fer G. O'Neil BY ,6 v.

ATTORNEY.

Feb. 26, 1946. w G QNEIL 2,395,424

DIVAN HARDWARE Filed June 14, 1943 4'SheetS-Sheet 3 Wa/fer 6. O'Nei/ ATTORNE Y w. G. ONEIL 2,395,424 DIVAN HARDWARE Feb. 26, v 1946.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 14, 1943 I INVENTOR, Wa/fer 6. O'Neil ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 26, 1943 UNITED STATES-PATENT oFFicE DIVAN HARDWARE Walter G. ONeil, Oakland, Calif.

Application June 14, 1943, Serial No. 490,719 (o1. 4v)

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a divan construction and particularly to the hardware employed. As is well known, divans are so constructed as to include a seat and a back portion which are selectively movable between two positions. In the first position the back and seat are arranged in a normal relationship for seating one or more persons with the back cooperatively adjacent the seat to provide a back rest for persons resting on the seat portion. In the second position the back portion and the seat portion are stably supported in a common horizontal plane to provide a bed on which one or more persons may sleep. Thus the divan serves as a dual purpose furniture unit. During the day it is available for seating and decorating purposes. When one wishes to retire, it is made up as a bed. The divan hardware of this invention is such that the back and seat can be quickly moved between one position and the other merely by grasping the back and moving it without first releasing any looks or levers.

It should be obvious that any divan, to be satisfactory, must include hardware of a simple yet rugged nature which will permit the seat and back portions to be moved readily and which will provide adequate support for the seat and back and, at the same time, have a long life. At this writing metal is not available for divan hardware and it is therefore necessary to construct of wood the parts permitting a manipulation of the seat and back. To accomplish this it is obviously necesary that a simple yet quite rugged construction must be adopted.

It is the general and broad object of the present invention to provide an improved divan hardware construction, particularly one which can be readily fashioned from wood and which is nevertheless serviceable and rugged.

The divan hardware construction embodied in the present invention is made up in sets of two like units except that one is a right hand unit and the other is a left hand unit. Each unit includes two links which are mounted upon a side frame of the divan and extend generally upwardly. The first-link is hinged to a plate intermediate the ends of the plate. The second link is also hinged to a second plate and to one end of the first plate. The first plate provides a support for the divan back and the second plate a support for the divan seat. The inter-connected links and plates support the back and seat on the divan frame; also they permit movement of the back and seat relative to each other. To locate the seat and back in a selected position a latch bar is hinged onto the second plate and is engaged by an extension on the first plate. A selective lock is provided between the extension and the latch bar. This lock is a feature of the present invention inasmuch as it enables the seat and back to be locked in a selected position, the lock being released merely by moving the back without the necessity of manually releasing any locking member. This is a distinct advantage for it is not necessary to grope about the divan to locate any lock or release.

The construction embodied in the present invention will be made further apparent upon considering the following construction which illustrates a preferred construction. In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Fig. l is a side elevation of a unit at the left hand end of a divan, showing the seat and back in seating position, Figure 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 while Fig. 3 shows the several parts in that position in which they appear when the seat and back are arranged as a bed. Figure 4 is a side elevation of a construction utilizing a wooden latch bar. Figure 5 illustrates the position of certain of the parts: of the diven, particularly showing how the pin 3 I? moves past the snail cam 34 and how the end of the snail cam permits the pin 3| to ride over the snail cam face and along the face of latch bar 26 from the position of the divan in Figure 1 to the position of Figure 3. t

Figure 6 illustrates the back and seat at a position which they attain during the movement from the position shown in Figurel, the seating position, to the bed position shown in Figure 4. In this position the cross pin is still engaged in the notch in the latch bar.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary View illustrating the cross-pin in position after moving the snail-cam out of the way and just before the cross-pin moves along face 42 on the latch bar to permit the seat and back to move into the bed position of Figure 3.

In the drawings, a divan frame side member is indicated at 6. This is the left hand member in a divan which includes the usual rectangular frame usually made of wood. Plates 1 and 8 are secured to the side frame by suitable screws. The first link 9 is hinged upon the plate 8 as at it while the second link H is hinged upon plate generally indicated by numeral 20 and shown in dotted outline and which is secured to plate M. An extension 22 on plate I8, which overlies the member 6, is adapted to receive a seat portion 23 and provide a support therefor, the seat also being indicated in dotted outline and being secured to extension 22. The details of the back and seat have not been shown. However, they include suitable members, as is well known in the art, for attachment to their respective supports, {Ighe y have been indicatedthdott dlines merelyjtp facilitate the disclosure."

With the units as described so far it is possible to manipulate the seat and the back into" numerous positions. It is necessary that'th'ese' be locked in either a seating position or ina position in which the seat and back providea'bed. To accomplish this I hinge a latch bar 2 or 1 a depending portion 2'! of extension 22 as at 2B, The latch bar extends toward the reahofth' divan to pass between two members 2%; which 155% r V T iinlm9 23 E 16 b'y ei n f 'i w h ridshna a e ofi'iei h j eh l et- 91 Uh per ure efilieets i t es s nd tch b r t "W tl el ent 1!; n: he. apert re 32 a5 n easses. and; t sk a e o ked n e a' itiee wit the ehl ar; n ar y i ri titel. an zitsnsieg sesame on. memb 63 ee'r ei cwith rawal Q the e ement a sn cam 34, m91 r sdf 9 tet a' n in 6- Th wire End 1. mm an; st ia en th t t d eer as. a erture 2 e ti fil redte mere he b ck m hat 1 9%; whi h e sieE-fieure e t e e s tioa t9 th bsqjpos t on i F ure 3 it is nl ne essary t9 null rw ieht1y o the The. eat mews or arsr nd th a sdown, links Sandll and plate l4 supf meqth si m insimqvement V. s v n h vc er a p ar n Fi ure=until -the back is horizontal and the seat isnearly vertical, as shown in Fig; 6. The length ith e re andtheiweishti g of the n il cam- 3 4 ,=with;respect toits support 36, is such thiat -a slightJifton' the seat at this point then; suffices to rotate the'camout of the way and permit* lementfij to pass the cam and come to rest betweencam fa ce 38; onthe back of the cam and the end face 39 of the aperture as is shown in Fi ure 7; The seat is then swung back and returnedto a horizontal positionin which itis in a'commonplanewith the back (Figure 3),, element ql riding over the backjface 38 of the cam out'ofi the aperture 32 andalong thelatch bar 25. into the position shown in Figure 3;

When it :is desired to return the back and seat to the seating position of:Figure 11 from the-bed position of Eigure'3; it is only" necessary'to lift the forward, edgesofithe seat: This causes latch bar'--25 ;to ridealong ele'ment 3l until. itienga'ges and rocks the cam out of the Way whereupon the-element entersthe aperture and locksas in Figure-13 'Theback andriseat can'thenbe 'ro-f tat'ed (counterclockwise in Fig. 3)? as 'a' unit into the seating position *shown'in1 h'gure-1;""'

"The weight: of th'eback'and. seat are so disposed thatlittle effort. is" required tom'ove them", the "weight ofion'e assisting" in the movement of the-other "between "one p'osition and "another, 'for' when one is beingr'aised: the other isbeing 1ow-' eredlj' Lateral stability and elimination" of any side "swayis securedby mounting links 9 and "I i on oneside of member 6 andfproviding latch bar" iizandzextensioris 297.011 the" othersid'e as appears in Figure 2. Extensions 29 depend below and beyond the back, thus increasing the strength of support for the back.

The snail cam represents a suitably biased lever having a cam surface formed on itsloWer end and so hinged that locking element 3! can rotate it into a position in which the cam surface enables the locking element to ride out of the slot.

= disc o ll e is particularly adapted to teammateinit qrmea i f m e up in wood the simplest construction is to make latch bar 26 of one piece of Wood and provide aperture 32 and face 42 by providing a continuo'us slotin the latch bar 26, as is shown in Figure 1; the upnsredge of the slot then corresponds to the lower edge of latch bar 26 in Figure 1. 'I'hise'nsurs adequate strength for that portion oi the latch bar 26 providing aperture face 44.

Those" skilled in the art can readily make the various modifications in the specific details "of construction and.arrangementnecess'ary to adapt the hardware to various divansofuvaryir'ig' sizel I'claim:

1. In a device of the character described having opppsite parallelside frame members spaced apart, a seat and aback, and means'ior selectively supporting, said seat, and said back at each endthereof for movement between a"'first7"position, in which the back and seat are disposed in a normal seating position with thes'ea't hori zontal and the back substantially verticalfaiid 'a second position, in which "the back'and'seat "are" disposed in a substantially comm'bn horizontal plane, said means comprising a first "link'hi'nge'cl at one'end on a side "member'an'd extendfnggen erally upwardly, a second.link"hinged"ori"said side member and extending generally" upwardly, aifirst" plate hinged interm'ediate its ends on th a other end'of said first "liiikfdritiendbf' said first plate beingadapt'e'd' t'dprci'vid asu'pport for said back, a second plate hinged at one end on a te t: mon hinge with the otnerend of "said" first plate and the other'end' cream geebnaimkythej'btrief end ofisaid'scon'd'plate 'b'ein adapted to provide, a"support"for'sai'd-seat, "alatch eermngea atone e'nd'upon and extendi'ng'frdin"saiuseat steepest parallel to said frame' member; "sfaid'ilatch 7 bar side'mernber'as to n ar-p t 3H,." w h-, -l, "'21 In a device of thegharaoter described hav ing' oppos te srau rsaenam i e" be apart, 'afsealt and a back, a tive'lysuppo'rting s" e'nd-"th'rf" fi v in a normal seating pos tio A I I v 'substantially vertical, sse'e fnd"pesrnoauriitnnn the te nagers v are disposed in a substantially eammenndfizezii tal plane, said means comprising a first link hinged at one end on a side member and extending generally upwardly, a second link hinged on said side member and extending generally upwardly, a first plate hinged intermediate its end on the other end of said first link, one end of said first plate having a lateral extension providing a support secured to said back, a second plate hinged at one end on a common hinge with the other end of said first plate and the other end of said second link, the other end of said second plate having a lateral extension providing a support secured to said seat, a portion depending from said seat extension, a latch bar hinged at one end upon and extending from said depending portion parallel to said frame member and beneath said seat, said latch bar having a slot in its other end, a snail cam oscillatably mounted on said latch bar cooperatively adjacent said slot, and an extension on said first plate having a cross-pin engaging said latch bar and movable along said latch bar in supporting engagement therewith and into selective engageing position wherein said cross-pin rides over said cam and out of said slot to position said back and seat in said second position.

3. A device as in claim 2 wherein the first and second links are each hinged on an outside face of said member and the latch bar and the first plate extension extend along the inside face of said side member to engage said face and provide lateral stability to the seat and the back.

4. A device as in claim 2 wherein the slot in the latch bar is generally in the form of an equilateral triangle with a portion of one side cut away to permit passage of aid extension into and out of said slot, said cam depending from said bar with its lower face generally belowthe remaining portion of said cut away side to provide a support on which said extension can ride out of said slot.

WALTER G. ONEIL. 

